Permanent Representation of Malaysia to UN Rome-based Agencies

22/08/2024

Our E-Newsletter for 1/2024 is here!

In this new edition, ACO Rome is pleased to convey the message of water especially in its role in achieving global food security and nutrition for all. Happy reading!

The link for the e-newsletter as follows :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rHBCUqGG6gyRNfX-DmT3iQZT9nBDu1wf/view?usp=sharing

08/07/2024

The 36th Session of Committee on Fisheries which kicked off here in FAO Rome today (8 July 2024) preceded with the discussion on the State of world Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)and progress in the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the related instruments. SOFIA 2024 highlighted, among others, that total fisheries and aquaculture production reached an all-time record of 223.2 million tonnes in 2022, consisting of 185.4 million tonnes of aquatic animals and 37.8 million tonnes of algae and for the first time aquaculture contributed a larger aquatic animal production (51 percent) than capture fisheries. Malaysia emphasizes the need for SOFIA to continually align its findings with SDG indicators, ensuring coherence and relevance in global efforts towards sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. 36COFI is scheduled to conclude its session on 12 July 2024, Friday.

Malaysian delegation is led by Mr Nazri Ishak, Director of Policy and Strategic Planning Division, Department of Fisheries Malaysia and Agriculture Counsellor Mr Abdul Rahman Abdul Wahab, Alternate Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the UN-Rome based Agencies.

11/04/2024

03/03/2024

The World Food Forum 2023 (WFF) was held from 16 – 20 October 2023 and attended by Mr. Abdul Rahman Abdul Wahab, Agriculture Counsellor and Ms. Siti Normaznie Abdul Muttalib from the Agriculture Attaché Office, Rome. This year overarching theme was "Agrifood Systems Transformation Accelerates Climate Action’’. The objective was to foster discussions and deliberations among diverse stakeholders, such as youth, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, policy makers, agri-investors, and global scientists, to forge new paths of action, impact and acceleration on the local, regional and global levels to expedite agrifood systems transformation and Climate Action.

The Director General of FAO, H.E. Qu Dongyu in his opening remarks underscored that by creating efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems it is possible to accelerate progress to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Transforming agrifood systems must be a central part of the global climate solution and WFF supporting the need for an intergenerational dialogue among leaders and agrifood systems’ partners.

Amongst the key takeaways from the forum were, food security is a significant global challenge, and transformative, innovative solutions are needed to address it. Secondly, the importance of addressing multi-dimensional poverty and child hunger and it was time to develop "virtuous intelligence" to tackle these pressing global challenges. Thirdly, a fundamental shift in thinking, moving beyond simply adjusting the existing models to new, more sustainable and ecologically sound practices in agriculture, such as agroecology is crucial. Fourthly, the collective action to enhance water management, information sharing, and global cooperation to achieve water security and mitigate water-related crises, emphasizing the link between water security and food security is required.

03/03/2024

The FAO Global Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization themed "Efficiency, Inclusiveness, & Resilience" was organized by FAO in hybrid modality on 27 – 29 September 2023 and attended by Agriculture Counsellor from Agriculture Attaché Office in Rome, Mr. Abdul Rahman Abdul Wahab and First Secretary (Agriculture), Ms. Siti Normaznie Abdul Muttalib. The conference was attended by over over 8,000 participants from around the world, including government officials, farmers, researchers, private sector representatives, and civil society organizations.

During the conference, participants underscored the pressing need to transform agriculture towards sustainability. With global challenges like food security and climate change looming large, the conference emphasized the critical role of sustainable mechanization in addressing these issues. Sustainable agricultural mechanization stands as a vital tool for enhancing agricultural productivity and efficiency. It also holds the potential to enhance food security and nutrition, reduce poverty, and generate employment opportunities. Sustainable agricultural mechanization must be inclusive, accessible to farmers of all genders, ages, and income levels and demonstrate resilience in the face of climate change and extreme weather events.

FAO was urged to continue providing technical support at the national, regional and global levels through its existing and new channels; encourage, conduct and convene more policy dialogues; and support countries and national governments in the development and implementation of national policies, regulations and laws that support the sustainable development of agricultural mechanisation.

The conference concluded with a Call to Action outlining 15 key actions, organised in 7 thematic sessions, developed to accelerate the transformation of global agri-food systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. The 7 thematic sessions as follows:

• Conservation agriculture
• Post-harvest management and agro-processing
• Climate change and resilient mechanization
• Digitalization and automation
• Supply chains and standards
• Business models and multi-stakeholder engagement
• Creating an enabling environment for sustainable agricultural mechanization and digitalization

03/03/2024

The Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation was held in physical mode on 22 September 2023 at FAO headquarters and was attended by Agriculture Counsellor, Mr. Abdul Rahman Abdul Wahab and Ms. Siti Normaznie Abdul Muttalib from Agriculture Attaché Office in Rome. The conference covered four main themes, namely, better livestock production systems, animal source food for better nutrition, livestock solutions for better environment and better life to support small-scale livestock producers to transition to sustainable livestock production, through appropriate services and policies.

The conference gathered representatives from FAO member countries, farmer and producer organizations, academic institutions, development agencies, civil society groups, and private sector entities.

The conference was meant as a platform to explore possible ways and connect relevant stakeholders for the development of robust and diverse livestock systems that can better withstand shocks and disruptions while contributing to the achievement of the SDGs. Some participant stressed the need to place farmers at the very core of the transformation. Farmers must step up and share their knowledge, wisdom, and solutions with other stakeholders and emphasized the importance of farmers as economic actors, calling for their central involvement in decision-making processes. Further, the active involvement of young representatives in shaping the future of the livestock sector, emphasizing that their choices today will shape the food systems of tomorrow.

Governments and other relevant stakeholders must learn from farmers’ experience in the field; involve them in the decision-making process; and provide them with the means and resources they need to continue feeding the world while stewarding the environment.

The livestock plays a pivotal role not just in promoting global health through its protein supply, but also by offering employment opportunities in the food value chain and social integration among communities worldwide. Additionally, by deploring the low-funding traditionally directed towards the livestock sector, it thus urged to increase, rethink and unlock investments to address global and local farmer challenges, especially for women and young entrepreneurs. Governments also should invest in local solutions to tackle global challenges, emphasizing the need to shield the livestock sector and the people who depend on it from far-fetched discussions about substituting animal-source proteins with artificial alternatives.

03/03/2024

School gardens teach children about more than just growing food.

They help to…
❤️Develop life skills
🍏Promote better & healthy eating
🌎Increase environmental awareness
💪Cultivate respect for food

08/01/2024

The 10th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group to Enhance the Functioning of the Multilateral System at FAO Headquarters, on 12 - 14 July 2023.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) established a Multilateral System (MLS) for facilitated access to a specified list of PGRFA, and monetary and non-monetary benefit-sharing from the use of these resources. Malaysia's delegation was led by Dr. Mohd Shukri Mat Ali, Director / Principal Research Officer Gene Bank and Seed Centre, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI).

The WG agreed on a preliminary way forward with the draft “June 2019 package” that includes a draft revised Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA), amendment of Annex I (list of crops in the MLS), and a draft resolution with implementing provisions.

The WG also reflected on changes in the international landscape since 2019, including recent decisions on access and benefit-sharing (ABS) from the use of digital sequence information/genetic sequence data (DSI/GSD) in other international fora.

08/01/2024

H.E. Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali, the Secretary-General, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) paid a courtesy call to the DirectorGeneral of FAO (DG), Dr. Qu Dongyu at FAO building on 25 July 2023.

The Secretary-General congratulated the FAO Director General for his re-appointment for a second term. In the meeting, the Secretary-General reiterated that Malaysia is committed to streamlining the need for FAO's technical assistance through the adoption of multi-sectoral food system approaches.

The DG invited the Secretary-General to send representations including youth to the World Food Forum from 16-20 October 2023, in FAO, Rome.

08/01/2024

The UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) was hosted by Italy, in collaboration with the Rome-based UN Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP), the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the wider UN system from 24 – 26 July 2023.

The UNFSS+2 was convened by the UN Secretary-General and attended by more than 2000 participants in-person, from 161 countries, including 22 Heads of State and Government, more than 100 Ministerial delegates, and over 150 Non-State-Actor organizations as well as the UN System and other International Organizations.

The overall framing of the Stocktaking Moment lies around the narrative of “Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity: Diverse Pathways in a Shared Journey”.

H.E Datuk Lokman Hakim Ali, Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM), Malaysia headed the delegation and was accompanied by Agriculture Counsellor, Mr. Abdul Rahman Abdul Wahab, alongside other delegations from the Ministry, Embassy of Malaysia in Rome and Agriculture Attaché Office.

H.E. António Guterres stated that global food systems are broken, and more than 780 million people experience hunger, almost one-third of all food produced is lost or wasted and more than three billion cannot afford healthy diets. Broken food systems are the result of choices we have made. Limited resources and debt burdens among developing countries prevent them from focusing their whole investment in food systems that can produce nutritious food across the social spectrum.

08/01/2024

An Evening With Malaysian Agrofood Products was organized by the Agriculture Attaché Office in Rome and supported by the Embassy of Malaysia in Rome, Business Development and Investment Division (BDI), MAFS and Agriculture Counsellor Office, The Hague, Netherlands.

It was gloriously held at the Malaysian Embassy in Rome, Italy on 3 July 2023 and attended by guests from the diplomatic community including ASEAN Ambassadors, Permanent Reps. at FAO, agrofood-related companies as well as the Malaysian diaspora in Italy.

It seeks to showcase and increase awareness on some of Malaysia's best fruits and their potential and visibility in the European market, particularly in the Italian marketplace. The tropical fruit sector is growing strongly in Europe. The success of tropical fruits in European countries had been facilitated by recent health trends and greater interest in trying exotic recipes/ different tastes and ingredients, both at home and in restaurants. This leads to a higher market value for tropical fruit with most imports in northern Europe.

The Honourable Minister also urged Italian counterparts to give continuous support and keep on assisting Malaysia in further exploring market potential.

08/01/2024

The Honourable Datuk Seri Haji Mohamad Sabu, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) paid a courtesy call on H.E. Francesco Lollobrigida, the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry at FAO HQ in Rome, on 3 July 2023.

The Honourable Minister shared that Malaysia and Italy have enjoyed positive trade in the agricultural sector. In 2022, the value of total trade between the two countries increased from EUR 0.4 billion (RM2.03 billion) in 2021 to EUR 0.5 billion (RM2.39 billion).

Both ministers held talks on proposed bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture, particularly modern agriculture and research & development for mutual benefit. YB Minister further emphasized the need to strengthen future collaboration for Malaysian premium tropical fruits market access such as jackfruits and Markisa in the Italian and EU markets.

The Honourable Minister also extended an invitation to Italy to participate in MAHA 2024.